Three-piece disintegrating and relinking ammunition belt link



Dec. 3, 1963 J. w. SARVIS THREE-PIECE DISINTEGRATING AND RELINKING AMMUNITION BELT LINK Flled Aug 28, 1962 INVENTOR. Jul-1n W- Enrv i5 3,112,673 THREE-PHECE DISINTEGRATING AND RELINK- ING AMMUNI'lION BELT LINK John Wiiliam Sarvis, Springfield, Mass, assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Aug. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 220,101 Claims. (Cl. 89-35) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to cartridge links for the type of automatic gun in which the cartridge is stripped from a cartridge belt link during counterrecoil stroke of the gun bolt and is reengaged in the link during recoil stroke of the bolt.

It is the object of this invention to provide for such gun a cartridge belt link in which there is provided a linking member which is actuatable by the retained cartridge, when stripped therefrom, to cause disengage- 'ment of the link from the remainder of the cartridge belt so that, when the case of the cartridge after discharge is re-engaged in the link, the link and the fired case are free to be ejected together from the gun.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the cartridge belt showing the fired case relinked in the left one of the links and such link disengaged from the belt and. the round partially stripped from the center link also disengaged from the link shown at the right which is the terminal link in the cartridge belt;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the link.

Shown in the figures is a link 12 for resiliently retaining for axial displacement therefrom a round 14 having a case 16 with an extractor groove 18. A ring 20 releasably connects pairs of the links 12 together to form a belt 22 for supplying rounds 14 to an automatic gun having a feedway 24 with a rail 26 disposed laterally thereover. A reciprocal bolt 27 strips round 14 from the feeding position link 12, during the recoil stroke, and reengages the tired case 16 in such link during the recoil stroke.

Link 12 is composed of two cooperating elements, a clamping member 28 and a linking member 30. Clamping member 28 is designed to substantially encircle case 16 and is slotted from the rear end to form a pair of spring leaves 32 which are arranged to press resiliently against the engaged case 16. Each of the spring leaves 32 is provided with an inwardly projecting crimp 34 which engages wtih extractor groove 18 of the engaged round 14 to releasably hold the round in the proper engaged position in clamping member 28.

A pair of inclosed openings 36 are symmetrically formed in clamping member 28 on opposite sides of the central vertical plane thereof and extending integrally rearward from the front end of each of the openings is a tine 38. The rear end of each of the tines 38 is bent inwardly, as noted at 39, to assist in holding link member 30 in assembled relationship with clamping member 28 as hereinafter described.

Linking member 36 includes an arcuate bridge 40, which extends between the openings 36, and a pair of flanges 42 which are extensions of the bridge. Flanges 42 are bent inwardly from bridge 40 into the respective United States Patent 0 ones of the openings 36 and under the corresponding ones of the tines 38. Linking member 30 is arranged for relative longitudinal displacement, respective to clamping member 38, between contacts with the rear' ends of the tines 38, where joined to the rear ends of the openings 36, and front ends 39 of the tines. Each of the flanges 42 is terminated at the free ends by a rearwardly opening loop 44 which extends outwardly from link 12.. Op-

posite loops 44 on pairs of the links 12 are engaged with ring 20 so that the pair of links 12 are flexibly connected together. Loop 44 is arranged to encircle the contacted sections of ring 20 more than to resiliently retain engagement between the loop and the ring.

Extending rearwardly from each of the flanges 42 is an arm 46 which, when free, extends angularly outward from link 12 through the corresponding one of the openings 3:: when linking member 30 is forwardly disposed relative to clamping member 23. The free end of each of the arms 46 is bent back and inwardly to form a detent 48, which is receivable by extractor groove 18 for engagement therewith, and a cam surface Stl which is contactable by the rear wall of the extractor groove to assist the spring tension in the arms in disengaging the detent 48 from the extractor groove by camming the detent outwardly therefrom when round 14 is stripped from link 12. When round 14 is engaged in link 12 and linking member 30 is rearwardly disposed relative to clamping member 23, the front ends of the arms 46 are positioned under those portions of the clamping member, noted at 52, which form the rear ends of openings 36 and thereby detents 48 are secured in engagement with extractor groove 18.

Link 12 is slidingly supported during travel through feedway 24, and clamping member 28 is held against longitudinal displacement relative thereto, by the sliding contact of a pair of tabs 54 formed in the front and rear ends of bridge 49 with rail 26.

Operation When bolt 27 moves forwardly in its counterrecoil stroke to battery position, round 14 engaged in the feeding position link 12 is picked up by the bolt andtransferred into the chamber of the gun barrel (not shown) for discharge. During the initial displacement of round 14, linking member 30 moves forwardly therewith through the engagement of detent 48 with extractor groove 18 for relative movement respective to clamping member 28 of the same link and of the engaged link which is the next succeeding one in belt 22. As linking member 39 is displaced forwardly, the connection formed by loops 44 of the engaged pair of links 12 with ring 20 is broken by the disengagement of one of the loops therefrom. When the forward displacement of linking member 30 relative to clamping member 28 is stopped by contact of the linking member with the front ends of the tines 38 where joined to the clamping member, detents 48 are located in the openings 36 so as to be free for outward displacement and disengagement from extractor groove 18. Such disengagement of detents 48 from extractor groove 13 is achieved through the springbias of the arms 46 to their free positions and the contact of the cam surfaces 5t) with the rear wail of the extractor groove.

During the recoil stroke of bolt 27 following discharge of round 14, fired case 16 is carried back by the bolt for reengagement in link 12. As detents 48 remain positioned outwardly through openings 38, they do not cause transference with the reengagement. When belt 22 is advanced in feedway 24, the disengaged links 12 and the fired case 16 are ejected together from the gun.

From the foregoing it is clearly apparent that the Patented Dec. 3., 1953 3 link taught herein is simple and rugged in construction and positive in its functions.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised within the spirit and scope thereof and the following claims are intended to include such variations.

I claim:

1. The combination including a reciprocal gun bolt, a round having a case with an extractor groove, a link adapted for engaging said round so as to be axially displaceable therefrom by said bolt, said link including a clamping member for engaging said round by substantially encircling said case and a linking member arranged for longitudinal displacement relative to said clamping member by said round when forwardly displaced thereon by said bolt, means for releasably connecting a pair of said links to form a belt and means for disconnecting said link from the belt when said linking member is forwardly displaced relative to said clamping member by said round.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said linking member includes a pair of rearwardly extending arms, a detent integrally formed at the rear end of each of said arms for engagement with said extractor groove so that said displacement of said round by said bolt is transferred to said linking member, and a cam surface formed on each of said detents so as to be contactable by a rear wall of said extractor groove to cam the respective ones of said detents free thereof during forward displacement of said linking member.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said linking member includes an arcuate bridge, a pair of flanges extending laterally from opposite ends thereof and arranged for respective cooperation with a pair of tines in said clamping member for limiting longitudinal displacement of said linking member relative thereto, an arm extending rearwardly from each of said flanges. a detent formed on the rear end of each of said arms so as to be engageable with said extractor groove when said linking member is rearwardly positioned on said clamping member, and a cam surface formed on each of said detents for contact with a rear wall of said extractor groove so as to cam respective ones of said detents free of said extractor groove when said round is displaced forwardly respective to said linking member, and wherein said means includes a rearwardly opening loop extending outwardly from the free end of each of said flanges and a ring engageable by opposite ones of said loops on the pair of said links.

4. The combination as cited in claim 3 wherein said case is re-engaged with said link by said bolt and wherein said arms are designed so as to be positioned free of interference with said case during re-engagement in said link.

5. The combination as defined in claim 3 and including means in said clamping member for holding said detents in engagement with said extractor groove when said linking member is rearwardly positioned relative to said clamping member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,780,963 Dixon Feb. 12, 1957 

1. THE COMBINATION INCLUDING A RECIPROCAL GUN BOLT, A ROUND HAVING A CASE WITH AN EXTRACTOR GROOVE, A LINK ADAPTED FOR ENGAGING SAID ROUND SO AS TO BE AXIALLY DISPLACEABLE THEREFROM BY SAID BOLT, SAID LINK INCLUDING A CLAMPING MEMBER FOR ENGAGING SAID ROUND BY SUBSTANTIALLY ENCIRCLING SAID CASE AND A LINKING MEMBER ARRANGED FOR LONGITUDINAL DISPLACEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID CLAMPING MEMBER BY SAID ROUND WHEN FORWARDLY DISPLACED THEREON BY SAID BOLT, MEANS FOR RELEASABLY CONNECTING A PAIR OF SAID LINKS TO FORM A BELT AND MEANS FOR DISCONNECTING SAID LINK FROM THE BELT WHEN SAID LINKING MEMBER IS FORWARDLY DISPLACED RELATIVE TO SAID CLAMPING MEMBER BY SAID ROUND. 